Now that fall is finally here, seniors undoubtedly feel the early deadlines approaching. For students who have not found a clear Early Decision college to apply to and/or want to take some of the pressure off of the application process early on, Early Action deadlines (if available at your colleges of interest) offer an advantage, especially for Safety and Target schools. That being said, it all depends on your application strategy. For many students, Regular Decision offers additional time to increase Grade Point Average, improve test scores, and put together a stronger application.

The most common Early Action deadlines are November 1 and November 15, with decisions typically back in mid-December. Even though you receive a decision before Regular Decision deadlines, which commonly fall on January 1, you have until the May 1 national response date to make a decision.

If your early application is not accepted or denied, it will be deferred. This means that the application goes back into the Regular Decision pool to be re-evaluated in February or March. You can then send along mid-year grades, test scores, and a commitment letter to schools in which you are most interested in order to strengthen your application.

When deciding on your list of Early Action schools, there is no limit, however, some schools have Restrictive Early Action or Single-Choice Early Action. While you can still apply Regular Decision to schools, you would be limited to applying to any other private universities Early Action or Early Decision, though public or international universities are an exception to this. Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale are schools that offer this option.

For reference, here is a list of more popular Early Action schools followed by all Early Action schools by state below.

Alabama
Auburn University
Birmingham-Southern College
Oakwood University

Arizona
Arizona Christian University

Arkansas
Arkansas Tech University
Harding University
Hendrix College
University of Arkansas

California
Azusa Pacific University
Biola University
California Baptist University
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
California Lutheran University
California State University, Sacramento
California State University, San Bernardino
Chapman University
Concordia University Irvine
Loyola Marymount University
The Master's University
Menlo College
Mills College
Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles
Notre Dame de Namur University
Point Loma Nazarene University
Saint Mary's College of California
Santa Clara University
Simpson University
Soka University of America
Stanford University
University of the Pacific
University of Redlands
University of San Francisco
Vanguard University of Southern California
Westmont College
Whittier College

Colorado
Colorado College
Colorado State University
Fort Lewis College
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Denver

Connecticut
Fairfield University
United States Coast Guard Academy
University of Hartford
University of New Haven
Yale University

Delaware
Delaware College of Art and Design
Delaware State University

District of Columbia
Catholic University of America
Georgetown University
Howard University
Trinity Washington University

Florida
Eckerd College
Lynn University
Palm Beach Atlantic University
University of Miami
University of Tampa

Georgia
Agnes Scott College
Emmanuel College
Georgia College and State University
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
Georgia State University
Mercer University
Morehouse College
Oglethorpe University
Spelman College
University of Georgia
Wesleyan College

Idaho
College of Idaho
Northwest Nazarene University

Illinois
Augustana College
DePaul University
Governors State University
Illinois College
Illinois Wesleyan University
Knox College
Lake Forest College
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
University of Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
Wheaton College

Indiana
Butler University
DePauw University
Earlham College
Grace College
Hanover College
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
University of Evansville
University of Notre Dame
Wabash College

Iowa
Coe College
Cornell College
Wartburg College

Kentucky
Bellarmine University
Centre College
Transylvania University
University of Kentucky

Louisiana
Centenary College of Louisiana
Southern University at New Orleans
Tulane University

Maine
Maine Maritime Academy
Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
Thomas College
Unity College
University of Maine
University of Maine at Farmington
University of Maine at Machias
University of New England

Maryland
Goucher College
Johns Hopkins University
Loyola University Maryland
McDaniel College
Mount St. Mary's University
Notre Dame of Maryland University
Salisbury University
St. John’s College
United States Naval Academy
University of Maryland (UMD)
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Washington College

Massachusetts
Assumption College
Babson College
Bay Path College
Becker College
Berklee College of Music
Boston College
Bridgewater State University
Clark University
Curry College
Dean College
Emerson College
Emmanuel College
Framingham State University
Gordon College
Hampshire College
Harvard University
Hellenic College
Lasell College
Lesley University
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Wheaton College
Wheelock College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester State University

Michigan
Central Michigan University
College for Creative Studies
Hillsdale College
Kalamazoo College
Michigan State University
University of Michigan

Minnesota
Bemidji State University
College of Saint Benedict
Gustavus Adolphus College
Hamline University
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Saint John's University

Mississippi
Millsaps College

New Hampshire
Colby-Sawyer College
Saint Anselm College
Southern New Hampshire University
University of New Hampshire

New Jersey
Bloomfield College
Caldwell University
Felician College
Georgian Court University
Kean University
Monmouth University
Princeton University
Rider University
Saint Peter's University
Seton Hall University
William Paterson University

New Mexico
St. John's College

New York
Adelphi University
Bard College
Binghamton University
College of Mount Saint Vincent
College of Saint Rose
Columbia University, School of General Studies
Concordia College New York
Dowling College
Fordham University
Hofstra University
Iona College
Ithaca College
Le Moyne College
LIM College
LIU Brooklyn
LIU Post
Manhattanville College
Marist College
Mercy College
Molloy College
Monroe College
New York Institute of Technology
Niagara University
Pace University
Parsons School of Design (The New School)
Pratt Institute
The Sage Colleges
Siena College
SUNY Albany (University at Albany)
SUNY Binghamton (Binghamton University)
SUNY Buffalo (University at Buffalo)
SUNY Cortland
SUNY New Paltz
SUNY Oneonta
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
SUNY Purchase (Purchase College)
Utica College
Wells College
North Carolina
Elon University
Fayetteville State University
Greensboro College
High Point University
Lees-McRae College
Lenoir-Rhyne University
North Carolina State University
Queens University of Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Asheville
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Warren Wilson College
Western Carolina University

North Dakota
Sanford College of Nursing

Ohio
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland Institute of Art
Cleveland State University
College of Wooster
John Carroll University
Miami University
Ohio State University
Ohio Wesleyan University
University of Akron
University of Cincinnati
University of Dayton
Wittenberg University

Oklahoma
University of Tulsa

Oregon
Eastern Oregon University
George Fox University
Lewis & Clark College
Linfield College
Oregon State University
University of Oregon
Willamette University

Pennsylvania
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
Dickinson College
Duquesne University
La Salle University
Lycoming College
Saint Joseph's University
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Susquehanna University
Temple University
University of Scranton
Ursinus College
Villanova University
Washington & Jefferson College
Westminster CollegePuerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez

Rhode Island
Bryant University
Providence College
Roger Williams University
Salve Regina University
University of Rhode Island

South Carolina
College of Charleston
Erskine College
Furman University
Presbyterian College
University of South Carolina
Wofford College

Tennessee
Bryan College
Rhodes College
Sewanee: University of the South

Texas
Abilene Christian University
Austin College
Baylor University
Southern Methodist University
Southwestern University
Tarleton State University
Texas Christian University
Texas Lutheran University
Trinity University
University of Dallas
University of St. Thomas

Utah
University of Utah

Vermont
Bennington College
Green Mountain College
Johnson State College
Marlboro College
Saint Michael's College
Sterling College
University of Vermont

Virginia
Christendom College
Christopher Newport University
George Mason University
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampton University
Hollins University
James Madison University
Longwood University
Old Dominion University
Patrick Henry College
Radford University
Randolph College
Randolph-Macon College
Sweet Briar College
University of Mary Washington
University of Virginia (UVA)
University of Virginia's College at Wise

Washington
Cornish College of the Arts
Gonzaga University
Northwest University
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle University
Whitworth University